# What was the stupidest premise for a TV show ever? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 7, 2005, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-stupidest-premise-for-a-tv-show-ever/293303 "2005-03-07T03:22:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Pixiesnix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/898d66/32.png) [@Pixiesnix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pixiesnix)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2005, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-stupidest-premise-for-a-tv-show-ever/293303/101 "2005-03-08T06:37:22Z")
**FriarTed** , don’t make me use the “F” word with you… Fiddlesticks. 😃 I’d like to belatedly defend the _Andy Griffith Show_. Not only funny, but it introduced me to bluegrass. [bad singing] Dooley, livin’ in the holler, Dooley, tryin’ to make a dollar…Dooley, gimme a swaller, I’ll pay you back someday…[/bad singing] One last thing…I know it was a kids’ cartoon, but it was popular enough to spawn a series of movies. _Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles_. ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2005, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-stupidest-premise-for-a-tv-show-ever/293303/102 "2005-03-08T06:46:12Z")
Well, if **Manimal** and **Cop Rock** are contenders, then surely there’s also room for [The Hat Squad](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0103436/combined). Three orphans. Adopted by a cop, raised to be cops. And they wear hats. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2005, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-stupidest-premise-for-a-tv-show-ever/293303/103 "2005-03-08T06:48:49Z")
Hmmm. It seems that [The Second Hundred Years](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061293/) is geiitng a free pass around here. Admit it. You were all fans, weren’t you? ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2005, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-stupidest-premise-for-a-tv-show-ever/293303/104 "2005-03-08T07:22:30Z")
> [@watsonwil](#): > > Many of these listed were interesting premises poorly executed. Agreed. There’s nothing inherently awful about some of these shows. With a good cast and semi-decent writers, they might have worked. (With neither writing or acting, they sucked. But “an alcoholic ex-ballplayer who owns a bar and some wacky barflies” and “morally bankrupt, sleazy lawyers who wear pastels” managed to work because they had solid casts and writers) But there’s just no hope anywhere at all for “My Mother the Car” or “Woops!” ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2005, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-stupidest-premise-for-a-tv-show-ever/293303/105 "2005-03-08T07:24:20Z")
Aw, c’mon, **Knight Rider** gets an automatic pass because of KITT’s cool red-bouncing-LED-light-hood-ornament! 😃 (Admit it, you wanted one of those for your car, too, don’tcha? [small]I still do.[/small]) ---
**Author:** ![me\_jane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@me\_jane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/me_jane)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2005, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-stupidest-premise-for-a-tv-show-ever/293303/106 "2005-03-08T07:25:47Z")
I watched this show the other night on Vh1 about the Best TV shows that never were. It was about pilots that were never picked up. This one they had was John Denver as a kick-ass FBI Agent. Let me repeat that. John Denver as a kick-ass FBI Agent. ---
**Author:** ![ddgryphon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8c91f0/32.png) [@ddgryphon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ddgryphon)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2005, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-stupidest-premise-for-a-tv-show-ever/293303/107 "2005-03-08T14:12:42Z")
I can’t believe I forgot: [Promised Land](http://www.tvtome.com/PromisedLand/) ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2005, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-stupidest-premise-for-a-tv-show-ever/293303/108 "2005-03-08T14:30:38Z")
First reaction on seeing the thread title: My Mother the Car. My best candidate not previously nominated: Doogie Howser, MD. Seriously, how many of us would trust our lives to a 15 year old doctor? Cartoon category: Super Chicken. OK, it was funny but what a silly premise. Game Show / Other category: Queen for a Day. 'nuff said. ---
**Author:** ![TV\_time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f17d59/32.png) [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2005, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-stupidest-premise-for-a-tv-show-ever/293303/109 "2005-03-08T14:47:45Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Hmmm. It seems that [The Second Hundred Years](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061293/) is geiitng a free pass around here. > > Admit it. You were all fans, weren’t you? Actually, it had potential, but the writing was terrible. Any time you use the fish out of water comcept you’ve got a good chance of a good long run, look at _My Favorite Martian_ and _Beverly Hillbillies_ to name just two. And the old chestnut of confusion of twins has had a long history of successes dating back to Shakespeare’s _Comedy of Errors_. Maybe you should not try for too many tried and truisms in one show. For my own suggestions: \*\*The Wild, Wild West \*\*- I mean let’s take all of the technology available in the 20th century and give it to one or two 19th century men is stretching credulity just a touch. \*\*Brisco County Jr. \*\*- same criticism as above. That being said, I loved both of the shows. Regarding _Hogan’s Heros_. I knew of a number of WWII vets who thought the whole concept of the show was repugnant ---
**Author:** ![Scott\_Plaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Scott\_Plaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scott_Plaid)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2005, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-stupidest-premise-for-a-tv-show-ever/293303/110 "2005-03-08T14:48:13Z")
> [@me jane](#): > > John Denver as a kick-ass FBI Agent. What so wrong with that? Everyone knows that he was a[sniper in Vietnam.](http://www.snopes.com/music/artists/denver.htm)🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2005, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-stupidest-premise-for-a-tv-show-ever/293303/111 "2005-03-08T15:50:55Z")
> [@BobT](#): > > **The Magician** was another of the mid 1970s shows with a weird premise. Bill Bixby played a stage magician who used his talents to rescue kidnapped damsels, solve crimes, etc. > > **Banacek** was based on the idea that some people went to incredible lengths to steal things or kidnap people with remarkable complexity. The series pretty much just used these plots to show George Peppard acting cool and wearing really scary 1970s style clothing. Would you believe these were two of my favorite shows at the time? (I was about 12 when these were on.) **Banacek** was actually an attempt to clone the success of **Sunday Mystery Movie** (“McCloud,” “McMillan & Wife,” “Columbo”) with three more on a Wednesday night (“Banacek,” “Hec Ramsey,” “Cool Million.” I think they also rotated in something featuring Richard Widmark called “Madigan” about a really badass senior citizen in an awful hat). **Banacek** ’s hook was that he was Polish, a novel concept at the time. Of the three, I really liked “Hec Ramsey” the best; a federal Marshal in the old west using before-their-time forensic investigative techniques. It was cancelled quick because it was too high-concept, I guess. “Cool Million”, about an adventurer (James Franciscus? James Farantino? James Franciosa? One of those guys) who would take on impossible cases for a $1 million fee, didn’t last very long either. And Bill Bixby kicked major ass as **The Magician**! He more-or-less introduced the (now ubiquitous) idea of using playing cards as weapons. ---
**Author:** ![chefjef](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e480ec/32.png) [@chefjef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chefjef)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2005, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-stupidest-premise-for-a-tv-show-ever/293303/112 "2005-03-08T15:53:24Z")
Ugh…while I did really like watching the re-runs (I"m not this old) – the premise of Mork and Mindy really was pretty silly…and absurd, frankly… ---
**Author:** ![TV\_time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f17d59/32.png) [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2005, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-stupidest-premise-for-a-tv-show-ever/293303/113 "2005-03-08T16:03:12Z")
> [@Krokodil](#): > > Of the three, I really liked “Hec Ramsey” the best; a federal Marshal in the old west using before-their-time forensic investigative techniques. It was cancelled quick because it was too high-concept, I guess. I loved that show too. I don’t think many episodes actually aired but those that did were well thought out and nicely done with accurate vehicles, arms and attire. I always wondered if the concept that an older detective/hero coming out on top was part of the problem. It was a time of teen idols and there was none of that in _Hec_. ---
**Author:** ![Scott\_Plaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Scott\_Plaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scott_Plaid)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2005, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-stupidest-premise-for-a-tv-show-ever/293303/114 "2005-03-08T16:05:51Z")
::Grump, Grump, Grump.:: This is all making me vary grumpy. Most of the idea here seem to be about shows that display magical realism, that is to say, have everything take place in the real world, save for one thing is diffrent. Sure, so most of the shows named did not execute very well, but that didn’t make the concept stupid. Many of my favorite shows dispayed this quality, such as: Beetlejuice, the animated series “(ghosts are real), Jumanji, the animated series(it is possible to escape to a land of adventure), The Great American Hero (superheroics are possible), Herman’s Head (having the segment of a personality argue about what to do), “Malcolm In The Middle” (he can talk to the audience” and It’s Garry Shandling Show (like the lastone, but moreso) ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2005, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-stupidest-premise-for-a-tv-show-ever/293303/115 "2005-03-08T16:12:12Z")
> [@](#): > > Banacek was actually an attempt to clone the success of Sunday Mystery Movie (“McCloud,” “McMillan & Wife,” “Columbo”) with three more on a Wednesday night (“Banacek,” “Hec Ramsey,” “Cool Million.” I think they also rotated in something featuring Richard Widmark called “Madigan” about a really badass senior citizen in an awful hat). Banacek’s hook was that he was Polish, a novel concept at the time. I kinda liked Banacek, too. Another hook was that the plots always involved things mysteriously vanishing in an “impossible” way. They were able to get quite a bit of mileage out of this, and came up with some unique and intriguing solutions, most of which wouldn’t have worked in real life. I also thought it was cool that Banacek lived in Boston and rowed on the Charles. Unfortunately, the TV writers didn’t know a damned thing about Boston. Banacek lived on Beacon Hill, where, until recently, _everyone_ in Boston lived because TV writers didn’t know anything else about Boston geography. And having him hang out at **Mulholland’s** bookstore was really rubbning it in. Mulholland is a very LA name, associated with the waterworks and all. It ain’t a Boston name, although it did save us from having a Cabot Bookstore or something. (By the way – **Kojak** started out as a slavic detective in a TV movie. When Telly Savalas did the series, they turned him Greek, like Savalas himself, but keeping the un-Greek surname. Now, in a new incarnation, Kojak is gonnas be black, still with a Slavic surname.) ---
**Author:** ![bat312](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c77e96/32.png) [@bat312](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bat312)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2005, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-stupidest-premise-for-a-tv-show-ever/293303/116 "2005-03-08T16:37:47Z")
A little hazy but… A short lived show, in the 70’s I think, about a scientist who accidentally gets morphed together with a military space satellite during a transporter experiment mishap. Not set in the future. So now, when he walking down the street and feels threatened, he turns into a robot ala the incredible hulk. He fights crime. Name anyone? ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2005, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-stupidest-premise-for-a-tv-show-ever/293303/117 "2005-03-08T18:53:23Z")
> [@Krokodil](#): > > And Bill Bixby kicked major ass as **The Magician**! He more-or-less introduced the (now ubiquitous) idea of using playing cards as weapons. Didn’t _Blacke’s Magic_ starring Hal Linden recycle this premise? ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2005, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-stupidest-premise-for-a-tv-show-ever/293303/118 "2005-03-08T19:04:18Z")
[Dad gives up a lucrative LA career and moves the family to Iowa.](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070967/) Yeah, right. ---
**Author:** ![Odinoneeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/97f17d/32.png) [@Odinoneeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odinoneeye)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2005, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-stupidest-premise-for-a-tv-show-ever/293303/119 "2005-03-08T19:15:07Z")
> [@NoClueBoy](#): > > Don’t know the name, but I’ve seen it. The self sufficient wife was way too hot for that premise. What a honey. The actress in question is Felicity Kendal. I’m not british, but from watching britcoms, I get the impression that her hotness is well known over there. I finally saw an episode of the show a few years ago and I would have to agree. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2005, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-stupidest-premise-for-a-tv-show-ever/293303/120 "2005-03-08T19:19:48Z")
> [@Dijon Warlock](#): > > [The Good Life](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075511/). When it was shown in the United States it was retitled “Good Neighbors.” Actually it was a fantastic show. What’s the bad premise? > [@NoClueBoy](#): > > “Let’s make a new Star Trek!” > > “But, we’ve already got one running.” > > “Yeah, but that one is on a space ship that moves from place to place. Let’s make one where everybody is stuck in one place. That way, we can bore the viewers into expecting lame-o shows for 5 years so that when we actually add the action and diversity we should’ve had in the first place, all the newbie Trekkers will think we’re geniuses.” > > “Brilliant! You sure people won’t think it’s a rip off of Babylon 5?” > > “What do we care? And a little while down the road, we’ll make a Lost In Space version of Star Trek, starring bimbos and hack actors.” > > “Brilliant! I’ll be sure to invite my friends Berman and Bragga to come help us out a little bit after a while. Those guys are genius.” > > “Genius!” I thought this thread was about bad _premises_. Sci-Fi/Fantasy story set on a space station? How is that a bad premise? The fact that is was being done by another show? Is that proof that it’s a _bad_ premise? (Of course, the two shows were being developed nearly simultaneously, so the “rip-off” claims are suspect. Sometimes it just happens – two volcano movies, two tornado movies, two killer asteroid movies at the same time – that’s life). (Aside – the fact that DS9 managed to marshal better acting, better dialogue, and better storytelling than B5 and managed to be the best Star Trek series of all really puts paid to the notion that there was a faulty _premise_ involved.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-stupidest-premise-for-a-tv-show-ever/293303.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-stupidest-premise-for-a-tv-show-ever/293303.md?page=7)